We took the dogs to the woods to play in the snow today. I noticed my 4 year old lab leaving a "drag" mark with her rear foot on occasion. They had not had a lot of hard physical exercise in a couple of weeks and today they did a lot of running and jumping up and down the mountains side. They came in and went to sleep and when she went to get up a few minutes ago she was a little gimpy. I fear she is starting to have some hip issues and it literally breaks my heart.

I would like to do some preventative stuff for her and I had just bought a human grade bottle of Gluc/MSM/Hyaluronic Acid for myself. Here is the potency per every two pills: Glucosamine Hydrochloride 1500mg/MSM 1500 mg/HA 3.3 mg. Would this be a good supplement for her and a good daily dosage? She is about 90 pounds and after today I have definitely made up my mind to jerk some weight off her as soon as possible.

Should I give a loading dose to her and if so, for how long? Or is there a better alternative? I can certainly buy something like Cosaquin if you guys think it is better.

I can't stand the thought of her getting older and hurting :(

Lucy Dog

01-19-2014 09:55 PM

There are plenty of reasons why a dog is limping. Get some x-rays first before you start throwing supplements at her. It might just be a soft tissue injury.

Chip18

01-19-2014 10:13 PM

Hopefully it's not Degenerative Myelopathy. I would have her checked out.

It works. I finally started using myself (used on my dog)...had to ice my back every morning upon rising...approx. a week, no more ice, no more achy back. We (G and I) ran out and wasn't able to get for couple weeks...started feeling the pain return, not quite at icing again...been back on for 5 days...Already feeling way better. G stepped up his walk pace too

Magwart

01-19-2014 11:14 PM

My understanding is that you also need chondroitin with the glucosamin (and msm). The widely publicized "GAIT" study by the National Institute on Health on glucasamine (for people) found little benefit to using it without chondroitin, as I recall--the two together seem to do something they don't do by themselves.

ETA: Agree re getting it checked out, BTW. It may just be arthritis -- that's okay, there's lots of options to make the dog feel better. Or it could be a minor (or major) injury. Or DM. Or a spinal problem. Or it could even be bone cancer (that recently happened to one of mine--expected the x-ray to show elbow arthritis, or even some dysplasia, and instead we found a tumor). Better to know what you are dealing with.

BowWowMeow

01-19-2014 11:23 PM

The leg dragging could be a knee issue (super common in labs) or a back issue or something else. It's great to get your dog on supplements but I would find out what exactly is wrong so that you can address it. Your dog might need a chiropractic adjustment or some other treatment.

For supplements I put all of my dogs on Ester C, fish oil and a good joint supplement formulated for dogs (currently Rafi is on Springtime Inc's Longevity and InClover Connectin).

TAR HEEL MOM

01-20-2014 08:12 AM

She has her annual checkup next week and I will certainly tell the doctor about it. Thanks for the info. She seemed almost back to normal this morning.

TAR HEEL MOM

01-20-2014 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucy Dog
(Post 4865241)

There are plenty of reasons why a dog is limping. Get some x-rays first before you start throwing supplements at her. It might just be a soft tissue injury.

She isn't really limping just somewhat slower than normal and walking with a altered gait. She did the same thing the last time we went to the woods. Almost like a person who hasn't gotten enough exercise and then they go to the gym..sort of like I feel this morning :)

Magwart

01-20-2014 10:54 AM

Another thought -- if there's even a hint or suspicion the dog may possibly have DM in the future because of some neurological deficits in the vet exam, you might want to look at Dr. Clemmons list of supplements for German Shepherds (he's a DM researcher):Degenerative Myelopathy of German Shepherds

My own vet sent me to his site to look at that list when he found my old dog was slow to right his foot when it was flipped over. It was a deficit--not a huge one, and not conclusive, but one that caused him to want to think about some added nutritional support. Dr. Clemmons list of supplements includes recommended amounts for healthy GSDs who haven't been diagnosed with DM, as well as confirmed DM cases.

I like that the suggested doses of antioxidants on the list is coming from a vet who researches in the nutrition field.

brembo

01-20-2014 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TAR HEEL MOM
(Post 4867169)

She isn't really limping just somewhat slower than normal and walking with a altered gait. She did the same thing the last time we went to the woods. Almost like a person who hasn't gotten enough exercise and then they go to the gym..sort of like I feel this morning :)

With the recent swings in the weather around here of late, might just be an old injury acting up. My shoulders and hips go nuts when it's -5 one day and two days later 50 degrees.